Finger-actuated handgun retention device for holster

ABSTRACT

A handgun retention device for a holster includes a catch that extends into a handgun receiving cavity defined by a body of the holster where the catch engages a trigger guard of a holstered handgun to retain the handgun in the cavity. A lever is operably coupled to the catch and extends below the grip of the holstered handgun and aft of its trigger guard, typically behind a rear margin of the holster, where the lever can be depressed to move the catch and release the handgun. The position of the release lever may promote safe gun handling. In a preferred embodiment, the catch and lever are formed of a resilient injection molded resin in a unitary structure with a spring arm that flexes when the lever is pressed inwardly toward the user&#39;s body.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/552,927, filed Mar. 11, 2004,which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to security holsters for handguns and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Known security devices for preventing unauthorized or unintendedwithdrawal of a handgun or other weapon from a holster include securitystraps and flaps, internal retention devices, and security hoods, amongothers. To release such security devices, the user must typicallymanipulate snaps, clasps, buttons, or “thumb-break” straps with his orher thumb or index finger, or both. The motions required to release suchdevices often require the user to let go of the handgun while releasingthe security device and can hinder the user's ability to quickly draw ahandgun.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,419,474 of Marx et al. and 6,547,111 of French describeinternal retention devices for handgun holsters that are actuated bytwisting the grip of the handgun before drawing it from the holster toallow the trigger guard of the handgun to clear a catch inside theholster body. The twisting motion used to operate these retentiondevices allows the user to securely grip the firearm while releasing theretention device and further allows the user to extend his or her indexfinger in accordance with accepted safe gun handling practices, to avoidaccidental discharge of the firearm.

Other handgun retention mechanisms may hinder a user's ability to extendhis or her index finger away from the trigger when drawing the weapon,in accordance with safe gun handling practice, increasing the chancethat the user's index finger may inadvertently come into contact withthe trigger and cause an accidental discharge.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,752,300 of Har-Shen and 6,769,582 of Beletsky et al.describe handgun holsters with latching devices that are actuated byinward depression of a button or lever positioned along the outer sideof the holster and adjacent the trigger area. The inward finger movementin the region of the trigger may increase the risk of accidentaldischarge of the handgun when quickly drawing it from the holster.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,581 of Rogers et al. describes a holster securitymechanism including a first mechanical blocking element that inhibitsupward withdrawal prior to rearward movement of a holstered handgun, anda second mechanical blocking element rear of the trigger guard that isbiased into a first position that prevents rearward movement of thehandgun and that is manually movable by a user's index finger or middlefinger to a second position that allows rearward movement of the gun.Thus, the second mechanical blocking element is positioned to avoidinadvertent contact between the release finger and the trigger. Thesecond mechanical blocking element works by cooperation with the firstblocking element, and operation of the security mechanism requires apracticed series of handgun movements to withdraw the handgun from theholster.

The present inventors have recognized a need for an improved handgunretention device for holsters, having an operational mode allowing theuser to practice safe handgun handling technique to reduce the chancefor accidental discharge of the handgun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A holster in accordance with a preferred embodiment includes a catchthat extends into a handgun receiving cavity defined by a body of theholster where the catch engages a trigger guard of a holstered handgunto retain the handgun in the cavity. A lever is operably coupled to thecatch and extends below the grip of the holstered handgun and aft of itstrigger guard, typically behind a rear margin of the holster, where thelever can be depressed to move the catch and release the handgun. In apreferred embodiment, the catch and lever are formed of a resilientinjection molded resin in a unitary structure with a spring arm thatflexes when the lever is pressed inwardly toward the user's body. Inother embodiments, the catch, lever, and spring arm may be integrallyformed of one-piece construction with the holster body by injectionmolding or otherwise.

Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of preferred embodiments, whichproceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a holster including a handgunretention device in accordance with a preferred embodiment;

FIG. 2 is an outside elevation view of the holster of FIG. 1 holding ahandgun;

FIG. 3 is an inside elevation view of the holster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an auxiliary perspective view looking downwardly into thecavity of the holster to show detail of a catch of the handgun retentiondevice;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the holster of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front perspective view of the handgun retentiondevice of the holster of FIG. 1, showing detail of the outwardly facingportions of the device; and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged rear perspective view of the handgun retentiondevice of FIG. 6, showing detail of the inwardly facing portions of thedevice.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIGS. 1-5, a holster 10 includes a holster body 20that defines a cavity 24 sized to receive a firearm 25 (FIG. 2) via atop opening 26 of cavity 24 and to hold firearm 25 therein. Holster 10is normally attached to a wearer's belt (not shown) or in anotherlocation. Holster 10 may include mounting holes 27 for fastening toholster 10 a belt loop or other intermediate device (omitted from thefigures for clarity) suited to coupling holster 10 to a belt or othersupport. Holster body 20 may be made of a wide variety of materials,such as leather, fabric, molded plastic, and other synthetic materials,for example, and by any of a variety of manufacturing methods, such asmolding, sewing, lamination, riveting, and other methods. Holster body20 may be made of a KYDEX® acrylic/PVC sheet material folded back overitself and formed to define a front spine 28. However, holster body 20is preferably molded of KYDEX resin. The rearward edges of holster body20 define a rear margin (or welt) 34 of holster 10 where inner and outersidewalls 35 and 36, respectively, are fastened together via screws orrivets (not shown) extending through one or more holes 37 in sidewalls35 and 36. Holster body 20 and cavity 24 may have an open bottom 38, asin the embodiment shown. Alternatively, cavity 24 may be closed at itsbottom. In other embodiments (not shown), holster body 20 may comprisetwo sections of material that are attached along front and rear margins,as in a “pancake” type holster, so that front spine 28 does not includea folded over region.

In the preferred embodiments, inner and outer sidewalls 35 and 36include inwardly protruding forms 44 that are sized to engage a triggerguard 54 (FIG. 2) of handgun 25 to provide nominal retention and therebyrequire a substantial upward withdrawal force to draw handgun 25 fromholster 10. In other embodiments (not shown) the inwardly protrudingforms 44 may be omitted.

A handgun retention device 40 for use with holster 10 includes a catch50 (FIGS. 3-7) having an inverted “J” shape that extends into cavity 24where it engages trigger guard 54 to releasably retain handgun 25 incavity 24. Catch 50 is preferably sized so that it extends laterally atleast part way across trigger guard 54 and preferably about half wayacross trigger guard 54 when catch 50 is in the closed position shown. Alever 60 is operably coupled to catch 50 and preferably extends aft of atrigger 56 of handgun 25, when holstered, below a grip 58 of handgun 25and preferably behind rear margin 34. In this location, lever 60 acts asa second-class lever that can be depressed in a laterally inward flexuredirection indicated by arrow 64 (FIG. 5) in response to force applied bythe user's release finger, without requiring the release finger to bemoved in the direction of trigger 56. In alternative embodiments (notshown), lever 60 may be arranged relative to catch 50 so as to act as afirst-class or third-class lever. Lever 60 preferably includes acontoured seat 68 that has a convex shape for providing purchase for therelease finger to prevent slippage. The release finger is preferably theuser's middle finger, although the index or third finger may also beused with some embodiments. Positioning of lever 60 and contoured seat68 aft of trigger 56 may tend to prevent improper gun handling techniquethat can lead to inadvertent or premature discharge of handgun 25 whendrawing it from holster 10.

Pressing inwardly on lever 60 flexes a spring arm 70 (FIGS. 6 and 7)supporting catch 50, causing catch 50 to move inwardly to an openposition (not shown), clear of the trigger guard 54. With catch 50 inthe open position, handgun 25 may be drawn upwardly from holster 10. Tofacilitate re-holstering of handgun 25, catch 50 includes a sloped orwedge-shaped top surface 74 (FIG. 6) that extends inwardly downward sothat trigger guard 54 drives catch 50 outward when handgun 25 isreinserted into holster 10. As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, catch 50,lever 60, and spring arm 70 are preferably unitary (of one-piececonstruction), and may be formed of a resilient injection molded resin,such as KYDEX® or nylon, for example. In an alternate embodiment (notshown), handgun retention device 40 may comprise separate catch, lever,and spring arm parts fixed together. Spring arm 70 preferably extendsupwardly from a mounting body 80. Mounting body 80 is sized to fitbetween inner and outer sidewalls 35 and 36 of holster body 20 so that apair of holes 86 in mounting body 80 are aligned with holes 37 ofholster body 20. Mounting body 80 preferably includes one or morepositioning pins 88 that mate with positioning sockets 89 formed ininner sidewall 35 of holster body 20 for accurately locating handgunretention device 40 relative to cavity 24, holes 37, or some otherfeature associated with holster body 20. Fasteners (not shown) extendthrough holes 37 and 86 to secure handgun retention device 40 to holsterbody 20. In some embodiments, threaded fasteners may be tightened orloosed to flex one or both of the sidewalls 35 and 36 and thereby adjustthe spacing between opposing forms 44 to control the tension ofsidewalls 35, 36 or the resistance to handgun withdrawal.

With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, a spring arm 70 preferably operates asa resilient cantilever attached at its fixed end to holster body 20, forexample via mounting body 80. Spring arm 70 is configured to resisttwisting when lever 60 is depressed so that catch 50 moves clear of thetrigger guard 54 (FIG. 2) without binding. For example, the crosssection of spring arm 70 preferably has a width “W” in a generallyhorizontal direction extending from lever 60 to catch 50 (or from frontspine 28 to rear margin 34), that is substantially greater than itsthickness “T” in the direction of laterally inward flexure 64. Forexample, width W may be from 2 to 10 times greater than thickness T. Theparticular ratio of W to T will be dependent on the configuration ofholster body 20, the material used for spring arm 70, and the releaseforce desired. Spring arm 70 may include spaced-apart first and secondsections 102, 104 connected by a transverse beam 106 and separated by arelief or aperture 92 to reduce the amount of force required to bendspring arm 70 in flexure direction 64 for releasing catch 50. Firstsection 102, which supports catch 50 in the preferred embodiment, mayinclude a thinned neck section 110 so that first section 102 is moreflexible than second section 104 in flexure direction 64. Thus,thickness T of second section 104 may provide the majority of theresistance to depression of lever 60. Thinned neck section 110 maythereby act as a fulcrum about which first section 102 may pivot toavoid inducing twisting of catch 50 when lever 60 is depressed.

Spring arm 70 and catch 50 are shaped to define an undercut region 96adjacent spring arm 70 and below catch 50 to allow spring arm 70 to beflexed inwardly toward the user without interfering with the innersidewall 35 of holster body 20. An opening 98 (FIG. 3) is preferablyprovided in inner sidewall 35 to provide clearance for movement of catch50 when it is released clear of trigger guard 54.

Handgun retention device 40 preferably includes an upwardly-facingresting surface 120 against which trigger guard 54 rests when handgun 25is holstered. Resting surface 120 preferably extends along the uppersurface of beam 106 and across an upper surface of an extension member122 (FIG. 6) that projects laterally from first section 102 of lever 70and on which catch 50 is supported. Resting surface 120 is preferablypositioned at a predetermined distance “A” above positioning pins 88 orsome other feature of handgun retention device 40, to thereby fix thevertical location of handgun 25 relative to holster body 20, whenhandgun 25 is holstered. Catch 50 preferably includes a hook portion 126including a downward-facing trigger guard engaging surface (unnumbered)spaced apart from resting surface 120 a distance “B” that is slightlygreater than the thickness of trigger guard 54. Distance “B” maypreferably be selected to accommodate a nominal thickness of the triggerguard of the particular handgun model for which handgun retention device40 is designed to fit, and to accommodate typical variation in suchthickness without allowing an undue amount of play in the verticalresting position of handgun 25.

In another embodiment (not shown), the catch 50, lever 60, and springarm 70 may be integrally formed of one-piece construction with theholster body 20 by injection molding or otherwise. Catch 50, lever 60,and spring arm 70 may also be shaped in a variety of shapes andconfigurations other than those shown. Handgun retention device 40 canbe adapted to fit a variety of types of holsters or to retrofit olderholsters.

It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changesmay be made to the details of the above-described embodiments withoutdeparting from the underlying principles of the invention. For example,holsters in accordance with the various embodiments can be used to holdother kinds of weapons and law enforcement tools, such as stun guns orenergy weapons sold under the name TASER®, for example, and the term“handgun” is meant to encompass such devices. The scope of the presentinvention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.

1. A holster for a handgun having a trigger and a trigger guard,comprising a holster body defining a handgun-receiving cavity having atop opening through which a handgun is inserted into the cavity anddrawn from the cavity; and a retention mechanism attached to the holsterbody, the retention mechanism including a spring arm having a fixed endattached to the holster body and a movable end on which a catch issupported for movement between a first position wherein at least aportion of the catch extends into the cavity to engage the trigger guardof the handgun when holstered, and a second position wherein the catchis moved away from the trigger guard to allow the holstered handgun tobe drawn from the cavity, and the retention mechanism further includinga lever attached to the spring arm proximal the movable end thereof andextending aft of the trigger, such that when the lever is depressed thecatch moves toward the second position.
 2. The holster of claim 1,further comprising a mounting body interposed between the spring arm andthe holster body.
 3. The holster of claim 1, further comprising apositioning pin and a positioning socket for positioning the retentionmechanism relative to the holster body.
 4. The holster of claim 1, inwhich the spring arm has a thickness in the direction of flexure and awidth in the general direction extending from the lever to the catch,and wherein the width is substantially greater than the thickness. 5.The holster of claim 1, in which the spring arm includes spaced apartfirst and second sections connected by a beam extending transversely ofthe first and second sections.
 6. The holster of claim 1, in which thecatch is formed in an inverted-J shape.
 7. The holster of claim 1, inwhich the catch includes a outer surface for facilitating reinsertion ofthe handgun.
 8. The holster of claim 1, in which the retention device isremovably attached to the holster body.
 9. The holster of claim 1,further comprising an upwardly-facing resting surface against which thetrigger guard rests when holstered.
 10. The holster of claim 1, in whichthe body includes an opening for allowing movement of at least part ofthe handgun retention device therethrough.
 11. The holster of claim 1,in which the lever, the catch, and the spring arm are formed of unitaryconstruction.
 12. The holster of claim 1, in which the retention deviceis formed of injection molded resin.